Health care professionals may recommend the use of fluidizable beds for patients who suffer from skin disorders or who would be at significant risk of developing skin disorders as a result of occupying a non-fluidizable bed. A typical fluidizable bed includes a vessel and a porous diffuser board or plate separating the interior volume of the vessel into a supply plenum and a fluidizable medium receptacle. The supply plenum is connected to a source of pressurized gas, usually ambient air that has been compressed by a compressor. A fluidizable particulate material, usually in the form of small beads, resides in the fluidizable medium receptacle. A liner is secured to the containment vessel near a rim thereof. A filter sheet is joined to the liner at a seam. The seam is tight enough to resist migration of the beads through the seam and ideally is also substantially fluid-tight. A gas permeable vent region of the filter sheet extends across the top of the containment vessel. The vent region has pores that are small enough to resist migration of the beads through the filter sheet. When the fluidizable bed is not in a state of fluidized operation, the vent region of the filter sheet is in a slack or relaxed state.
During fluidized operation, pressurized air enters the air distribution chamber, flows through the diffuser partition and the fluidizable material, and exhausts through the filter sheet. The velocity of the air flowing through the material “fluidizes” the material so that the material and air, taken together, exhibit fluid-like properties. As a result, the occupant of the bed is supported on a quasi-fluid having a specific gravity greater than that of the occupant. Such a system of support is beneficial for occupants suffering from skin disorders or at significant risk of developing skin disorders.
One drawback of fluidizable beds is the weight of the fluidizable material and the transportability of the bed as a whole. Fluidizable beds typically weigh about 1000-1600 pounds (455-727 kg.), a considerable portion of which is the weight of the fluidizable material. Because of the specialized nature of fluidizable beds, they are frequently rented, rather than owned, and must therefore be frequently transported from one site to another. Even if a bed is owned, for example by a health care facility, it may need to be regularly transported from room to room. The weight is obviously a disadvantage in a frequently transported product. In addition, fluidizable beds may be used in a home care setting where the building structure may not be designed to support such heavy weight. Moreover, the fluidizable material must be periodically cleaned, usually at a site remote from the bed. The large volume and weight of the fluidizable material contributes to the cost, time and effort required to carry out the cleansing. The above drawbacks are amplified in fluidizable beds designed for heavier occupants, including bariatric occupants.